The food stamp program makes billions in improper payments each year.
Improper payments are government outlays that should not have been made or were made in the wrong amount. These improper payments often include fraud, abuse, and waste, but are not always indicative of illegal activity.
The USDA has reported more than $45.75 billion of improper payments between FY 2003 and FY 2022. The reported improper payment rate was 11.5 percent in 2022.
USDA reported data quality issues in FY 2015 and 2016 that prevented it from providing improper payment rates. In FY 2020 and 2021, USDA suspended state error data reporting requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Improper payments are likely significantly higher than the reported amounts. In fact, the 2014 Farm Bill instructs USDA to ignore improper payments up to a “quality control tolerance threshold.” This threshold was set at $37 in 2014 and increases with inflation each year. In 2022, the “tolerance threshold” was $48. Thus, any improper payment up to $48 in 2022 was not reported. The tolerance threshold increases to $56 for FY 2024.
The Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments Act, introduced by Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) would clarify that all improper payments must be counted as errors.
Read the EPIC Report: Food Stamps: A Culture of Dependency.
Go deeper: These States Have High Food Stamp Payment Errors.
